Sports have been the focal point of my life since a very young age. Growing up I played various sports ranging from hockey to basketball and it was my experience participating and watching these that made me want to work within the sport industry. Sports can be used as a tremendous outlet for positive change in the world by promoting physical activity, teamwork, and creating growth within communities. Being a part of that culture is a huge reason why I am excited to intern at the Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC). 

Hi, my name is Matthew Amos, and I am from Wawa, Ontario. In case you haven’t heard of it, it is a small town just north of Sault Ste. Marie. I love watching and participating in most sports; however, I am most interested in hockey by far. I grew up playing in the Wawa Minor Hockey Association throughout elementary school and high school and have recently got back into playing this year in Brock’s intramural league. I am currently in my fourth year at Brock University studying Sport Management and graduating in the spring of 2024. This winter I will be interning in the CSC’s Marketing, Communications, and Event Coordinator position. Most of my professional experience has been blue collar labor work, so I am very excited to finally get my foot in the door of the sport industry and work closely with a variety of organizations. 

Since I have always been interested in sports and business, enrolling in Sport Management was an easy decision. I have learned so much in the last four years of my program that will help me in my future career. Some of my favorite courses were Professional Engagement for the Sport Industry, Sport Marketing, and Sport Management Ethics. These three courses have really helped me to discover my interests and taught me many useful skills that will help me in my career such as proper professional communication, research, and critical thinking skills. Another course that supported my learning was Quantitative Analysis for Sport Management. It was difficult learning about data analysis and the many different formulas that come along with it; however, I did have a lot of fun with the challenge and it made me want to learn more about data management. My love and passion for sport and business will guide me while working for the CSC. I cannot wait to learn various technical and interpersonal skills that will help me develop as a professional such as: 

• Digital program proficiency 
• Project management  
• Decision making 
• Professional communication skills. 

This position was recommended to me by our experiential education coordinator at Brock. Upon reviewing the CSC’s website and the description of the internship position, I immediately knew that this was an experience I did not want to pass up. A few past events that immediately stood out to me were the 2023 Club Development Workshop and the CSC’s involvement at the 2023 Grand Slam of Curling. I thought that the CSC’s work with various organizations and the topic of both events were extremely compelling and something that I would be interested in engaging in. From there, I applied for the position and conducted an interview shortly afterwards with the CSC’s Director Dr. Julie Stevens and the Centre Coordinator Grace Nelson. Both Dr. Stevens and Grace did a tremendous job introducing the CSC and giving me a better idea of what the internship would entail. The marketing and event management aspect of the position stood out to me and the chance to learn more about valuable digital programs used at the Centre such as WordPress, Canva, and Google Analytics. After just a few days here I was given the opportunity to explore both the CSC’s Instagram and LinkedIn accounts and got familiar with both WordPress and Canva. I look forward to utilizing my data management and Canva skills throughout this position. 

I am still unsure of what I want to do with my professional career path; however, the CSC is giving me a lot of opportunities to explore the sport industry and find the career path that I would like to pursue. I am extremely excited to learn more about project management, marketing, and data analytics. I have always been interested in data analytics, especially when it comes to hockey and evaluating a player’s ability. I am hoping the Centre’s engagement with data analytics will help me grow my understanding of using data and data management in the workplace. 

Overall, I am very excited to be a part of the Centre for Sport Capacity team, I am so thankful to finally be working within the sport industry and with sport organizations. Sport is a huge passion of mine; I wholeheartedly believe that sports can change people’s lives for the better and have a very big impact within people’s communities. I am confident that the CSC will teach me valuable skills that I can then utilize to make a difference in the sport industry. I encourage all students to get out of their comfort zones and to try to learn as much as possible throughout university to try and make a difference in the world.